Public Health Fiscal Austerity #1: Navigating Fiscal Austerity: Lessons from Past Public Health Retrenchment (On Demand-No CE)

PLEASE NOTE: No CE or certificate are available in this course.

This recorded webinar was developed and hosted by the Center for Public Health Systems at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The Center is hosting a public webinar series to discuss practical strategies for protecting communities when budgets tighten.

This first recorded webinar introduces the history and context of fiscal austerity for governmental public health through historical episodes (e.g., post-Great Recession, early 2000s federal cuts) and provides panelist perspectives to identify patterns in workforce reductions, service prioritization, and long-term recovery.

This training was originally held on January 28, 2026. To view more information about the upcoming live webinars in this series, visit the 2026 Public Health Fiscal Austerity Webinar Series.

Note on Accessibility: This training includes closed captions, a written transcript, and a copy of the slides.

Audience

Public health professionals in all settings, including state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments

Learning Objectives

• Describe fiscal austerity as a recurring condition in governmental public health, including its roots in revenue volatility, time-limited funding, and structural underinvestment, rather than as a one-time crisis phenomenon
• Identify common patterns of public health retrenchment observed during past fiscal contractions (e.g., workforce reductions, service elimination or consolidation, reliance on contracting)
• Explain how funding composition and governance structures influence vulnerability to austerity, including reliance on federal grants, state general funds, and local property taxes
• Recognize the importance of anticipatory and planful decision-making—including workforce planning, contracting strategies, and scenario thinking—over reactive responses during fiscal downturns

Instructors

Terry Allan, MPH, Retired Commissioner, Cuyahoga County Board of Health

Jeanette Kowalik, PhD, MPH, MCHES, President, Jael Solutions

Jan Malcolm, Retired Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Health

Moderated by: 

Jonathon P. Leider, PhD, Director, Center for Public Health Systems, University of Minnesota

Sponsors

This training was a collaboration of the Region V Public Health Training Center and the Center for Public Health Systems at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

The Region V Public Health Training Center is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31684 Public Health Training Centers ($940,000). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by Region V PHTC, HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

Technical Information

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Contact us at rvphtc@umich.edu with questions.